Comparing Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) & Mitsubishi Chemical (OTCMKTS:MTLHY)

Mitsubishi Chemical (OTCMKTS:MTLHY) and Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mitsubishi Chemical and Intrepid Potash”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mitsubishi Chemical	$24.61 billion	0.43	$439.53 million	$1.84	20.11
Intrepid Potash	$298.33 million	1.65	$11.19 million	$1.98	18.47

Mitsubishi Chemical has higher revenue and earnings than Intrepid Potash. Intrepid Potash is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mitsubishi Chemical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Mitsubishi Chemical and Intrepid Potash, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mitsubishi Chemical	0	0	0	0	0.00
Intrepid Potash	1	2	0	1	2.25

Intrepid Potash has a consensus price target of $29.00, indicating a potential downside of 20.70%. Given Intrepid Potash’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Intrepid Potash is more favorable than Mitsubishi Chemical.

Profitability

This table compares Mitsubishi Chemical and Intrepid Potash’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mitsubishi Chemical	N/A	N/A	N/A
Intrepid Potash	8.94%	4.74%	3.73%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

56.1% of Intrepid Potash shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Intrepid Potash shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Mitsubishi Chemical has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Intrepid Potash has a beta of 1.24, meaning that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Intrepid Potash beats Mitsubishi Chemical on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mitsubishi Chemical

Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation provides performance products, chemicals, industrial gases, health care products, and other products in Japan and internationally. It operates in five segments: Specialty Materials, Industrial Gases, Health Care, MMA, and Basic Materials. The Specialty Materials segment offers performance polymers, soarnol, gohsenol, sustainable polymers, and engineering plastics; coating materials, additives, and fines; packaging, industrial and medical, acetyl, and polyester films; engineering shapes and solutions, carbon fiber and composite materials, and fibers; aqua, life, and infrastructure solutions; and semiconductor, electronics, and battery materials. The Industrial Gases segment provides industrial gases. The Health Care segment offers ethical pharmaceuticals. The MMA segment provides methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The Basic Materials segment offers basic petrochemicals, polyolefins, and basic chemical derivatives, as well as carbon products. The company provides engineering, transportation, and warehousing services. Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement. It also provides Trio, a specialty fertilizer that delivers potassium, sulfate, and magnesium in a single particle; water for oil and gas services industry; salt for various markets, including animal feed, industrial applications, pool salt, and the treatment of roads and walkways for ice melting or to manage road conditions; magnesium chloride for use as a road treatment agent for deicing and dedusting; brines for use in oil and gas industry to support well workover and completion activities; and metal recovery salts. Intrepid Potash, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is based in Denver, Colorado.